FORMS OF LAND TENURE IN THE UNITED STATES 271 



farming and to the well-being of the tenant farmers and to the 

 nation as a whole. 



A large proportion of the tenant farmers are young men who 

 are in the process of earning enough money to buy a farm. 

 This is especially the case in the Northern States. In Illinois, 

 for example, nearly 44 per cent (43.77) of farm homes which 

 were rented were occupied by persons under thirty-five years 

 of age, whereas less than 1 5 per cent of those owning their farm 

 homes were under thirty-five years of age. 



The owners of rented land are quite generally older farmers 

 who have retired or who have more land than they wish to 

 farm ; 80 per cent of the owners of rented land have but one 

 farm let to tenants, 11.4 per cent have but two, 5.4 per cent 

 have three or four, 2.3 per cent have five to nine, .7 per cent have 

 ten to nineteen, .2 per cent have twenty or more farms. Taking 

 the United States as a whole the large estate made up of rented 

 farms is the exception and the landowner with one or two 

 farms to rent is the rule. In a vast number of cases the tenant 

 is the son or son-in-law of the landlord. At the time when the 

 parents are ready to retire from the active duties the farm 

 is usually turned over to one member of the family on a tenant 

 basis, with the expectation that in time title to the farm will be 

 secured by the tenant and he will become the owner of the farm. 



While tenancy is common at the present time and has been 

 present in the United States since the beginning of our nation, it 

 has ever been looked upon merely as a stepping stone, a 

 temporary means of acquiring the use of land, and not as a 

 permanent condition for any individual. The statistics show 

 an increase in the percentage of tenancy, however, and it appears 

 that, on the average, farmers grow older as tenants than they 

 did when land values were lower. One important subject 

 of consideration relates to the means of maintaining the move- 

 ment from tenancy to ownership. This will receive especial 

 consideration in a later chapter. In this chapter especial 

 attention will be given to the methods of renting land with a 

 view to the right use of the land and to the equitable distribution 

 of the products of the land. 



